Documentary explores earlier Mormon's bid for presidency

Comedian, magician and filmmaker, Adam Christing, 48, of La Mirada used a variety of books and resources to make his movie "A Mormon President: Joseph Smith and the Mormon Quest for the White House," DVD at right. One of his favorite resources was a signed first edition copy of "No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith" by Fawn M Brodie (1945), at left.LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Information about Adam Christing’s documentary “A Mormon President: Joseph Smith and the Mormon Quest for the White House” and a trailer can be found at amormonpresident.com.

The 54-minute DVD can be ordered from the website for $14.95, plus $3 shipping.

Visitors also can participate in a poll that asks “Is America ready for a Mormon president?”

Mitt Romney is on the verge of becoming the first Mormon chosen by a major American political party as its presidential candidate.

But the first Mormon to run for president was the man who was the first Mormon ever, church founder Joseph Smith Jr.

Smith's death in 1844 at the hands of an angry mob came while he ran as a third-party candidate for president. He was also mayor of the Mormon town of Nauvoo, Ill., and commanded its sizable militia under the title Gen. Joseph Smith.

Smith was a controversial figure – inside and outside his church. Just weeks before his death at 38, Smith led his militia in destroying the printing press of the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper published by church dissidents who questioned his practice of polygamy and other doctrines. He also declared martial law. Those two acts riled non-Mormons and led to Smith's assassination while he was being held on charges of treason.

Too few people have been exposed to Smith's complex life and its lingering impact, says Adam Christing, the founder of the La Habra-based Clean Comedians and the writer/director of "A Mormon President: Joseph Smith and the Mormon Quest for the White House."

Completed late last year, the documentary includes historical re-enactments and interviews with scholarly and religious voices, both Mormon and non-Mormon, believers in Smith's teachings and skeptics.

The film looks at the last years of Smith's life and also asks the question, "Is America ready for a Mormon president?"

Christing, a successful comedian, speaker and magician who resembles actor Will Ferrell, was raised in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now known as the Community of Christ church and one of many offshoots of the church that Smith founded. The largest congregation in the Mormon movement is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which claims more than 14 million members worldwide, including Romney.

Christing, 48, lives with his second wife and the two youngest of his four children within shouting distance of his boyhood home in La Mirada. His family attends the non-denomination Whittier Area Community Church.

Christing is a member of the Mormon History Association and has been intrigued by Joseph Smith since his youth. The magician in Christing was drawn to Smith's upbringing – his father was a mystic and practiced folk magic. Then there's Christing's love of history and admiration for entrepreneurs.

"I'm fascinated by men and women in America who sort of create a bigger self somehow. I'm fascinated by Harry Houdini, who was Erik Weisz and became Houdini. I'm fascinated by Walt Disney, who just envisioned these magic kingdoms and they happened. People compared Joseph Smith to other religious leaders. It might be better to compare him to these creative geniuses."

Christing says the History Channel is in talks to air the nearly hour-long film, which is available on DVD.

Q. Why did you decide to do this film? Is it because Romney is seeking the presidency?

A. I wanted to make this film on Smith before I even knew the name Romney. I just couldn't stop reading about Joseph Smith. Then when Romney threw his hat in the ring in 2007, I said, well, it would make sense.

You could do three or four movies just on Smith and his life. In 14 years, what he accomplished was incredible. But I said let's focus in on that window of time when he ran for president, when he was assassinated, when all the polygamy was going on.

Comedian, magician and filmmaker, Adam Christing, 48, of La Mirada used a variety of books and resources to make his movie "A Mormon President: Joseph Smith and the Mormon Quest for the White House," DVD at right. One of his favorite resources was a signed first edition copy of "No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith" by Fawn M Brodie (1945), at left. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Comedian, magician and filmmaker Adam Christing of La Mirada used a variety of books and resources for information to make his DVD movie, "A Mormon President: Joseph Smith and the Mormon Quest for the White House." LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
This image of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith Jr., a copy of a daguerreotype made circa 1843-1844, was provided by the archives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Mormon church, founded by Smith, ranks fifth among U.S. denominations and lists 12 million adherents worldwide. ANONYMOUS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Adam Christing, 48, named his movie company, Creek Park Pictures, after the park near where he grew up in La Mirada. Christing and his family still live next to the park. Christing recently released his latest movie on DVD, "A Mormon President: Joseph Smith and the Mormon Quest for the White House." LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
In this July 6, 2012, file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks about job numbers at Bradley's Hardware in Wolfeboro, N.H. Long before Mitt Romney became the millionaire candidate from Massachusetts, he was his father' son, weeding the garden in the upscale suburb of Detroit where he grew up. He hated the chore. But he idolized the man who made him do it - George Romney, the outspoken, no-nonsense, auto executive turned politician. CHARLES DHARAPAK, ASSOCIATED PRESS
This is an 1842 watercolor portrait of Joseph Smith by Sutcliffe Maudsley on exhibit at the Museum of Church History and Art Monday, Dec. 8, 1997, in Salt Lake City. A year's celebration of the Mormon pioneer experience is ending with publication of a book on the "tragic ambiguity" of polygamy as experience by 33 plural wives of church founder Joseph Smith. DOUGLAS C. PIZAC, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Comedian, magician and filmmaker, Adam Christing recently released a DVD of his movie, "A Mormon President: Joseph Smith and the Mormon Quest for the White House." LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Photos are on display which may be of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 30, 2008. The display was intended to promote a book from Eborn Publishing of Ogden, "Millions Shall Know Brother Joseph Again: The Joseph Smith Photograph." While some people were swayed, others believe it's not Smith. TOM SMART, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mormon church President Gordon B. Hinckley poses in the doorway of a replica of the log house Friday, March 27, 1998 in Palmyra, N.Y., where church founder Joseph Smith lived when he encountered his first vision that led to the formation of the Mormons. Smith was 17 years old in 1823 when he was visited by the angel Moroni in his bedroom, according to the church's history. Three years earlier, Smith said he saw God and Jesus Christ while praying in a nearby maple grove. Smith claimed the angel led him to a buried cache of gold plates on nearby Cumorah Hill that he translated into the Book of Mormon, one of four books in the church's scriptural canon, which includes the Bible. The first six believers formally organized the church in 1830 in Fayette. WAYNE SCARBERRY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Comedian, magician and filmmaker, Adam Christing, 48, of La Mirada recently released a DVD of his movie, "A Mormon President: Joseph Smith and the Mormon Quest for the White House." LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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